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Description
copyright © 2016 FlutterWacken

RULES
1) DON’T REMOVE CREDIT! I put a lot of hard work into this after all.
2) Link back to this page when you make one and/or post art of them! I’d love to see
3) DO NOT TRADE FOR POINTS / MAKE ADOPTABLES - unless clearing it with me
4) Go wild! The species has no limit on designs and colors, so be creative!

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RANDOM NOTES:

*Artemia do not have a name for their own species, and are confused at the concept. Same with pronouns, though if they live with humans they may tend to take on a specific genders pronouns. The name Artemia(major) /may change later may i add/ was coined by scientist due to their similarities with brine-shrimp

*Poached Artemia are usually kept in large aquariums and are tagged. This is highly illegal to do and if someone is caught owning/transporting one they can be sentenced up to ten years in prison + forced work against such trades

*They usually mate for life unless extreme conditions make them leave their mate such as abuse

*Names are usually based on things such as shells, colors, ect though sometimes decent sounding nonsense words are also chosen. They name themselves after 4 - 5 months of age

*Their colors are determined by what creatures the Parent(Ther) ate during the pregnancy. Because they cant make their poison naturally at first the Ther only go for high venom creatures or those with bright warning colors. Those colors are then applied to the Children(Babs) and will begin to recreate the venom in the Ther's system.

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Behaviour/Culture:

They live by a simple code of “don’t hurt or force others into things unwillingly or over hunt.” They are a very simple species. Those who pose harm or have done so to fellow pod-members are out casted and are very rarely killed unless it also resulted in the loss of another member.

When it comes to death they are very caring. If they found a random body or skull they would swim around it, looking for any signs of familiarity. If its no one they know they do what they can, such as with a semi floating body they swim it back to the ocean floor and put a few rocks carefully on top of them. Anchoring them for crustaceans and other creatures to eventually eat.

If it is someone they know the entire pod will do the same, swimming around, giving their last goodbyes though touches before taking them to the sea floor. If the dead leaves behind a mate the pod will care for the survivors needs, and become quite comforting. If any young are left parentless(Ther-less) they are given to a mated pair with either no children(Babs) or very few.

Being the simple species they are, gender, size, appearance, mutations, or even being an entirely different species, generally doesn’t matter. As long as the Pod member can survive without much assistance and lend help in defense they will welcome them with lowered fins.

When it comes to a new alien of their own kind asking to join to pod – to a pod member deciding to mate with an entirely difference species - they’re hesitant to accept. After a few introductory swims and watching how they react to other members/mate they will accept them. If its a very aggressive species the pod may make a point to tell their concerns to their mate so that the pair can help put their worries at ease, or will simply let them be one of the main fighters. It all depends on the situation.

For some borderline miraculous reason they happen to breed the pod will be very very careful around the young, wary of getting attached in case there are complications. Eventually though the Babs will be cared for and loved by the pod in its entirety just as other Babs are.

As for feeding social norms: If there is food, eat it. They aren’t an aggressive species in the least, other than occasionally in defense. There is no competition over food, as if there are members weaker than others the pod will either assist or simply let them catch and eat first. Attacking another member over food without cause usually ends up in the guilty pod-member being kicked from the group.

--------------------------

Communication:
For starters they are a very group-orientated species in pods of around five to twenty. The way they talk reflects that, body language, clicks, trills, chirps, glowing*, and a type of telepathy that can only be ‘heard’ only through touch. They are a very affectionate species, so touching and brief taps in greeting is quite normal for them.

Although they are usually considered low-sentient by humans, Artemia actually have very high IQs. This is assumed from their lack of verbal speech. If kept around humans they will begin to learn the language enough to translate their telepathy into human words, though it takes quite a bit of time. Either way they can fully understand human languages before they learn speak it.

(( If RPing the proper way to distinguish their telepathy from regular other species speech is to ))

*Glowing is caused by natural bacteria that feeds on the access water that is released from the Artemia's pores that mix with processed venom, other such things from prey, and hormones. The glow's color is entirely random for each Artemia and there dosnt seem to be anything that explains why one may glow green while the other a neon red. The glow helps flash long distant messages similar to morse-code as well as express extreme emotion, or for more helpful reasons a light in darker areas

--------------------------

Classes/Ranks:
Darters: They are the main body of the pod. Though they can and will fight if needed they are expected to turn fin and flee should a large predator begin taking down Defenders. They are usually the young and mated-pairs, and elderly. Though after a certain age the Elderly will cease being darters and will act as suicidal bait to lure said creatures away without being told to do so.

Defenders: Usually 1/3 of the pod’s members are defenders. They are either the largest or Artemias who have more poison/longer barbs than what is usual. If the pod is attacked they will react with full force. Usually though they are able to scare away most threats, and are also the ones who deal with unwanted mate-beggars.

--------------------------

Gender/Mating:
Artemia are both genders, also known as hermaphrodites. They can procreate with any other of their species, or with themselves in worse case scenarios, incase of suddenly low population they can spring back quickly. This is extremely rare though and the Artemia must not be around another member of its own kind for at least 14 human months and have a decent supply of food.

Genitalia are hidden in their compartment known as a pouch to prevent damage / infections.

They mate for life. Courting can take weeks; months, even years given the fact they breed so rarely and under only specific conditions. They can still select a mate without actually breeding, seeing as how rarely they ever do, so they have more than enough time to be picky. Only thing is they’re really not picky at all. They tend to swim around each other, watching the others movements during the initial stages of courting, and first introductions. After that they, similar to dolphins, become quite playful, and during those bouts of fun they can watch to see how agile the other is, and look for other traits they would pass onto offspring.

They are generally very touchy-feely normally, so nothing there really changes. Any attempts at mating with an individual that dose not allow the advances will either shove them off, or give a nice stab with their poison barbs. They are immune to their own species poison, but it still hurts enough to get the point across.
Once mated they become protective over each other. Not to the point the pod members are stuck staying away, but enough that if another tries to court there could be a skirmish. The rest of the pod is usually mindful of this, and will also help chase any unwanted mate-seekers away.

Though when they do procreate one tends to be the “female” and actually create the offspring. But its been known for both or sometimes neither if things go wrong. When the time comes the mated pair will leave the pod and go to their hidden nesting area usually hidden in underwater caverns or under ledges. Though rarely the non-birthing mate will be left behind. Otherwise, the non-birthing will usually offer comfort, or aid the female by wrapping their tail around theirs and keeping them stretched out, not allowing them to curl from pain. This can help even the more difficult births pass quicker.

After the eggs are laid, they stick to that hidden area until they hatch and capable of being safely tucked under fins or clinging to their Thers’ side. How many offspring there are is determined by the amount of food sources, temperature of the area, and the level of stress on the parent. The higher the stress the less amount of offspring. (The highest number ever from a healthy parent with low stress was 7) The rest of the pod stays in one location during this time, mostly made up of those without mates or the unlucky few who’s mating was not fruitful.

Fertile eggs are easy to tell apart from unfertilized. They’re larger, and a delicate network of veins can be seen through the semi translucent shells. Touching the eggs will result in a slight give, as if you are touching an egg made of thicker laytex. In the right lighting the color of the Bab can sometimes bee seen and even possibly a glimpse of the developing Bab.

The Thers will tuck the young away under their fins and approach the pod, keeping a fair distance away until their mate/Pod-mates notices and swims up. Unlike usual they keep a decent distance as they dance around the other, quite carefully. Usually the mate left behind or pod members will do so to look for wounds, and once the Ther(s) decides it is safe, they will show the offspring by lifting a fin.

--------------------------

Life Span:
Eggs are born after two weeks gestation.
Eggs then hatch after four to six days
Hatchlings (Babs) stay with their parents (Ther[s]) for around two human years
Hatchlings become Adults after three human years of age
Adults live until around roughly seventy-two human years

--------------------------

Mutations:
Usually affects fin shapes or length of their poison barbs. Anything under the sun yo – just don’t give them a ton of eyes and your character is practically cannon.
--------------------------

Diet:
They have two ways of eating. One is the more common on-the-run filter feeding option that targets small shrimp-like species and various algae’s. The other is actual consummation of fish and larger aquatic life though how is unknown as they do not seem to have a mouth.

The later option only happens when there is a large amount of food and little predators. Seeing as the species tends to move quite often the filter feeding is necessary. It is during the times of safety that the mating will probably occur as well, as it will be triggered due to the large amounts of protein in their diet stating how safe the pod is.

Description
copyright © 2016 FlutterWacken

RULES
1) DON’T REMOVE CREDIT! I put a lot of hard work into this after all.
2) Link back to this page when you make one and/or post art of them! I’d love to see
3) DO NOT TRADE FOR POINTS / MAKE ADOPTABLES - unless clearing it with me
4) Go wild! The species has no limit on designs and colors, so be creative!

---

RANDOM NOTES:

*Artemia do not have a name for their own species, and are confused at the concept. Same with pronouns, though if they live with humans they may tend to take on a specific genders pronouns. The name Artemia(major) /may change later may i add/ was coined by scientist due to their similarities with brine-shrimp

*Poached Artemia are usually kept in large aquariums and are tagged. This is highly illegal to do and if someone is caught owning/transporting one they can be sentenced up to ten years in prison + forced work against such trades

*They usually mate for life unless extreme conditions make them leave their mate such as abuse

*Names are usually based on things such as shells, colors, ect though sometimes decent sounding nonsense words are also chosen. They name themselves after 4 - 5 months of age

*Their colors are determined by what creatures the Parent(Ther) ate during the pregnancy. Because they cant make their poison naturally at first the Ther only go for high venom creatures or those with bright warning colors. Those colors are then applied to the Children(Babs) and will begin to recreate the venom in the Ther's system.

------

Behaviour/Culture:

They live by a simple code of “don’t hurt or force others into things unwillingly or over hunt.” They are a very simple species. Those who pose harm or have done so to fellow pod-members are out casted and are very rarely killed unless it also resulted in the loss of another member.

When it comes to death they are very caring. If they found a random body or skull they would swim around it, looking for any signs of familiarity. If its no one they know they do what they can, such as with a semi floating body they swim it back to the ocean floor and put a few rocks carefully on top of them. Anchoring them for crustaceans and other creatures to eventually eat.

If it is someone they know the entire pod will do the same, swimming around, giving their last goodbyes though touches before taking them to the sea floor. If the dead leaves behind a mate the pod will care for the survivors needs, and become quite comforting. If any young are left parentless(Ther-less) they are given to a mated pair with either no children(Babs) or very few.

Being the simple species they are, gender, size, appearance, mutations, or even being an entirely different species, generally doesn’t matter. As long as the Pod member can survive without much assistance and lend help in defense they will welcome them with lowered fins.

When it comes to a new alien of their own kind asking to join to pod – to a pod member deciding to mate with an entirely difference species - they’re hesitant to accept. After a few introductory swims and watching how they react to other members/mate they will accept them. If its a very aggressive species the pod may make a point to tell their concerns to their mate so that the pair can help put their worries at ease, or will simply let them be one of the main fighters. It all depends on the situation.

For some borderline miraculous reason they happen to breed the pod will be very very careful around the young, wary of getting attached in case there are complications. Eventually though the Babs will be cared for and loved by the pod in its entirety just as other Babs are.

As for feeding social norms: If there is food, eat it. They aren’t an aggressive species in the least, other than occasionally in defense. There is no competition over food, as if there are members weaker than others the pod will either assist or simply let them catch and eat first. Attacking another member over food without cause usually ends up in the guilty pod-member being kicked from the group.

--------------------------

Communication:
For starters they are a very group-orientated species in pods of around five to twenty. The way they talk reflects that, body language, clicks, trills, chirps, glowing*, and a type of telepathy that can only be ‘heard’ only through touch. They are a very affectionate species, so touching and brief taps in greeting is quite normal for them.

Although they are usually considered low-sentient by humans, Artemia actually have very high IQs. This is assumed from their lack of verbal speech. If kept around humans they will begin to learn the language enough to translate their telepathy into human words, though it takes quite a bit of time. Either way they can fully understand human languages before they learn speak it.

(( If RPing the proper way to distinguish their telepathy from regular other species speech is to ))

*Glowing is caused by natural bacteria that feeds on the access water that is released from the Artemia's pores that mix with processed venom, other such things from prey, and hormones. The glow's color is entirely random for each Artemia and there dosnt seem to be anything that explains why one may glow green while the other a neon red. The glow helps flash long distant messages similar to morse-code as well as express extreme emotion, or for more helpful reasons a light in darker areas

--------------------------

Classes/Ranks:
Darters: They are the main body of the pod. Though they can and will fight if needed they are expected to turn fin and flee should a large predator begin taking down Defenders. They are usually the young and mated-pairs, and elderly. Though after a certain age the Elderly will cease being darters and will act as suicidal bait to lure said creatures away without being told to do so.

Defenders: Usually 1/3 of the pod’s members are defenders. They are either the largest or Artemias who have more poison/longer barbs than what is usual. If the pod is attacked they will react with full force. Usually though they are able to scare away most threats, and are also the ones who deal with unwanted mate-beggars.

--------------------------

Gender/Mating:
Artemia are both genders, also known as hermaphrodites. They can procreate with any other of their species, or with themselves in worse case scenarios, incase of suddenly low population they can spring back quickly. This is extremely rare though and the Artemia must not be around another member of its own kind for at least 14 human months and have a decent supply of food.

Genitalia are hidden in their compartment known as a pouch to prevent damage / infections.

They mate for life. Courting can take weeks; months, even years given the fact they breed so rarely and under only specific conditions. They can still select a mate without actually breeding, seeing as how rarely they ever do, so they have more than enough time to be picky. Only thing is they’re really not picky at all. They tend to swim around each other, watching the others movements during the initial stages of courting, and first introductions. After that they, similar to dolphins, become quite playful, and during those bouts of fun they can watch to see how agile the other is, and look for other traits they would pass onto offspring.

They are generally very touchy-feely normally, so nothing there really changes. Any attempts at mating with an individual that dose not allow the advances will either shove them off, or give a nice stab with their poison barbs. They are immune to their own species poison, but it still hurts enough to get the point across.
Once mated they become protective over each other. Not to the point the pod members are stuck staying away, but enough that if another tries to court there could be a skirmish. The rest of the pod is usually mindful of this, and will also help chase any unwanted mate-seekers away.

Though when they do procreate one tends to be the “female” and actually create the offspring. But its been known for both or sometimes neither if things go wrong. When the time comes the mated pair will leave the pod and go to their hidden nesting area usually hidden in underwater caverns or under ledges. Though rarely the non-birthing mate will be left behind. Otherwise, the non-birthing will usually offer comfort, or aid the female by wrapping their tail around theirs and keeping them stretched out, not allowing them to curl from pain. This can help even the more difficult births pass quicker.

After the eggs are laid, they stick to that hidden area until they hatch and capable of being safely tucked under fins or clinging to their Thers’ side. How many offspring there are is determined by the amount of food sources, temperature of the area, and the level of stress on the parent. The higher the stress the less amount of offspring. (The highest number ever from a healthy parent with low stress was 7) The rest of the pod stays in one location during this time, mostly made up of those without mates or the unlucky few who’s mating was not fruitful.

Fertile eggs are easy to tell apart from unfertilized. They’re larger, and a delicate network of veins can be seen through the semi translucent shells. Touching the eggs will result in a slight give, as if you are touching an egg made of thicker laytex. In the right lighting the color of the Bab can sometimes bee seen and even possibly a glimpse of the developing Bab.

The Thers will tuck the young away under their fins and approach the pod, keeping a fair distance away until their mate/Pod-mates notices and swims up. Unlike usual they keep a decent distance as they dance around the other, quite carefully. Usually the mate left behind or pod members will do so to look for wounds, and once the Ther(s) decides it is safe, they will show the offspring by lifting a fin.

--------------------------

Life Span:
Eggs are born after two weeks gestation.
Eggs then hatch after four to six days
Hatchlings (Babs) stay with their parents (Ther[s]) for around two human years
Hatchlings become Adults after three human years of age
Adults live until around roughly seventy-two human years

--------------------------

Mutations:
Usually affects fin shapes or length of their poison barbs. Anything under the sun yo – just don’t give them a ton of eyes and your character is practically cannon.
--------------------------

Diet:
They have two ways of eating. One is the more common on-the-run filter feeding option that targets small shrimp-like species and various algae’s. The other is actual consummation of fish and larger aquatic life though how is unknown as they do not seem to have a mouth.

The later option only happens when there is a large amount of food and little predators. Seeing as the species tends to move quite often the filter feeding is necessary. It is during the times of safety that the mating will probably occur as well, as it will be triggered due to the large amounts of protein in their diet stating how safe the pod is.